Regret
by Viola the Witch
Summary: This is a story about Makoto and Haruka from Free! This is set after the graduate from high school. This contains Haruka x Makoto, but nothing beyond the line of kissing. I will also be including a character that is not in the actual anime, named Kichirou.
1. Chapter 1

Makoto asked Haruka to meet him at the swimming club on Friday so he could talk to him about something. Haruka found Makoto's seriousness odd, but complied with his requests anyways. Makoto was sitting on a bench outside, tapping his foot in anxiety, while waiting for Haruka, but when he arrived he greeted him as normally as he could.

"Haru, I have to tell you something. I know this will change our friendship, but I need to get it off my chest."

"Makoto…what is it?"

Makoto gulped. He had come this far, and he couldn't go back. There was no way he could chicken out, so he had to be completely honest.

"Haru…I…I…."

Makoto was freezing up in fear of what would happen next. Haruka put his hand on Makoto's shoulder.

"Makoto, you can tell me anything."

Hearing this, Makoto calmed down a bit. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Haru, I like you."

Haruka was shocked at Makoto's confession.

"Oh…listen Makoto…"

Makoto could tell that the following wouldn't be good.

"You are the one person who I can be completely honest with. I go to you for everything, and you're my best friend. I'm sorry, but I won't ever see you as anything else."

Makoto's eyes widened and his heart shattered. He was shaking and his eyes burned.

"I see….."

A constricting silence fell over them as they stood there. Eventually, after what seemed like hours, Haruka broke the silence.

"Makoto, maybe we should stop hanging out for a bit. For your sake. I feel that closeness will only make it worse."

Haruka may as well have been stomping on the pieces of Makotos heart at this point. Haruka turned and began walking away.

"Bye… Makoto…"

Makoto's legs could no longer support him, and he fell onto his knees. He reached out a hand to Haruka. He wanted to scream. He wanted to stop his world from crumbling right in front of him, but he couldn't find the strength to. He covered his face with his hands and he began crying out every last one of his unreturned feelings.


	2. Chapter 2

After Makoto's confession, Haruka and Makoto stopped talking to each other as much. Makoto made many efforts to mend their friendship, but Haruka distanced himself from Makoto constantly. Haruka didn't want to hurt Makoto, but he didn't realize he was hurting him by avoiding him. Makoto decided that chasing after someone who didn't return his feelings was a drain on him emotionally. He decided to get away from his source of damage by moving to Tokyo. They ceased all communication. Haruka tried to get his mind off of Makoto, but for some reason he couldn't. Everywhere he went in Iwatobi just reminded him of all of the memories he shared with Makoto. Maybe if he moved away from Iwatobi, he could forget. His head hurt just from thinking about leaving his home town, but maybe it was the only solution. Word had gotten back to Iwatobi that Makoto was going to be in a swimming tournament in Tokyo. Haruka heard about this and felt bad for not being there for his friend. He debated for a very long time about what to do, and finally decided that they should become friends again. Makoto had to be over Haruka at this point, so why not go support him. He found out the date, time, and place from Makoto's family, and booked a flight as well as a hotel. He wanted to apologize for cutting off Makoto, and hoped Makoto would forgive him. After arriving in Tokyo, Haruka unpacked, excited at the prospect of reuniting with Makoto, but scared of getting the cold shoulder. He didn't know much about the places in Tokyo, so he didn't leave his hotel room much until the day of the tournament. He dressed appropriately and rushed off in anticipation. After getting to the venue he quickly took a seat and began looking for Makoto.

"Damn, I don't see him anywhere."

Haruka continued to look and paid no attention to the races taking place. The time came for the third heat for the men's backstroke, and Haruka finally saw Makoto. When he saw Makoto, it took him a while to register that it was actually Makoto. He noticed that Makoto had lost weight, and became a bit taller. Although he was glad he finally saw Makoto, he felt a little bit odd, in a way he couldn't describe. He brushed it off and watched intently as the swimmers jumped in and grabbed the rungs on the platform. The ref shot the start gun and the race was on. Haruka was infatuated with Makoto's swimming, how determined and and focused he seemed. This Makoto was definitely different from the old one. Makoto was the first to make it to the turn, leaving all the other swimmers behind. He made it back to the starting platform and was declared a winner. Haruka started cheering uncharacteristically, but he didn't care. Haruka then got up from his seat and rushed out to go find the locker rooms. He was running around with the biggest smile on his face like a child playing tag. When he eventually found the locker rooms, he saw Makoto walking out. He then unabashedly called out to him.

"Makoto!"

Makoto turned to face Haruka and his eyes widened.

"Haruka…what're you-"

Haruka surprised himself at what he did next. He ran up to Makoto and hugged him tightly. Makoto was still surprised and weakly hugged Haruka continued speaking enthusiastically.

"How have you been? What have you been doing?"

Makoto still couldn't get his bearings together.

"Haruka..what…how did…"

Haruka explained how he had heard of the competition and came to cheer Makoto on. It was at this point Makoto finally spoke up.

"Haruka, why have you come here?"

Haruka was taken aback by his serious tone.

"T-to cheer you on of course."

Just then, another person walked up. It was a guy, he seemed to be about the same age as Haruka and Makoto, while being slightly taller than Haruka. He had jet black hair that was in a buzz cut.

"Hey Makoto! Congrats on winning!"

Makoto's tone changed from serious to lighthearted.

"Thanks Kichirou!"

"Oh, who's this Makoto?"

"Oh, uh..this is…a fan. I'm not sure what his name is."

Haruka's blood ran ice cold when he heard this. Why would Makoto say that?

"Is that so? Good to see the people that look up to you in person, huh?"

"Yeah, it's great-"

A ring tone went off and Kichirou reached into his pocket and checked his phone.

"Makoto, I have to go. See ya on Saturday!"

"Bye!"

Haruka waited for Kichirou to leave before going off on Makoto. As soon as he had the chance, he pushed Makoto in the wall.

"Makoto what the hell?! Why did you act as if I was a stranger?! And who the hell was that guy?!"

Haruka could sense jealousy seeping into his voice.

"Haruka…he's…"

"Come on, say it!"

"Haruka please I…."

"Tell me now!"

"He's my boyfriend okay!"

Haruka felt his eyes become wide. He turned and began walking away, but before he could get too far, Makoto grabbed his wrist.

"Haruka, are you okay?"

Haruka was silent for a bit before answering in a small voice.

"You and me are nothing. We haven't talked in so long. You can make your own decisions, and you're not tied down by me. So why?"

Haruka turned around and Makoto saw he was crying.

"Why am I crying over this…."

Makoto's grip loosened, and Haruka pulled away before running off.


	3. Chapter 3

Haruka raced around the bustling city of Tokyo. He ran as fast as he could back to his hotel, even though calling a taxi would have been faster. He tried covering his face as best he could without limiting his vision. His mind was racing, trying to figure out his own feelings. Before he knew it, he had arrived at his hotel. He ran inside and took the stairwell to his room instead of the elevator. He took the room card out of his pocket when he reacher his room. After he unlocked it, he went inside and shut the door. He backed up against the door and slowly sank to the ground.

"Why…why did I start crying…why did I ruin what could've been a second chance?"

Haruka held his knees to his chest while talking to himself.

"Could it be that…..my feelings have changed….what's wrong with me….why do I feel like this."

Haruka hated this. He hated feeling like a jealous idiot. He couldn't find any other answer to the problem, no other solution. And he didn't like it at all.

"I like….Makoto…"

Elsewhere, Makoto was walking in the parking lot of the venue feeling terrible. He felt like trash, like the lowest of the low. A car pulled up next to him, and Kichirou was driving.

"Hey Mako, I finished up with what I had to do, so I came to get you!"

Makoto was a bit startled , but tried to put on a happy mask. He walked around the side of the car and got in the passenger seat.

"Thanks Kichi."

He leaned over and planted a small kiss on Kichirou's cheek. When he pulled away, Kichirou had a concerned look on his face.

"Makoto, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean? Nothing is wrong."

"I can tell that you're not okay, you don't usually kiss my cheek."

"Everything's fine. Don't worry about me."

"No, I have to worry, I'm-"

Makoto cut him off by kissing him. After they separated, Kichirou rolled his eyes and began driving. The car ride was silent, but Kichirou didn't shrugged off Makoto's strange behavior. After arriving at Makoto's apartment, Kichirou finally spoke.

"Makoto, tell me what's going on."

"This again? I told you nothing is happening!"

"If you leave here without telling me, this relationship is over, so spill it."

Ma 


	4. Chapter 4

A month passed by since Haruka went to support Makoto. Haruka returned to Iwatobi and acted as if nothing had happened in Tokyo. He didn't talk to anyone about his trip, and avoided questions about Makoto. Haruka wanted to forget Makoto existed. He became heavily determined in his training, always pushing himself to his limits. When he thought he could run no longer, he ran an extra mile. When his arms felt like jelly from swimming, he would swim 3 extra laps. He tried his best to put his focus away from Makoto, anything but Makoto. And yet, everywhere he went, he could only think of Makoto. More months passed, and the winter season came. Haruka was sitting in his house drinking tea, when he realized the snow outside his house was becoming fairly high.

"I should shovel before it becomes unmanagable."

Haruka dressed himself in thick clothing before going outside with a shovel. He cleared away the snow from his porch first before moving on to the pathway. He then noticed a figure moving up the stone steps of his house. He set his shovel aside and waited for the person. When the figure had climbed the last step, he realized it was Makoto. Haruka's eyes widened, but his expression quickly turned to one of rage. He spoke roughly and angrily.

"What do you want?"

Makoto was surprised at Haruka's rough tone, but began speaking.

"Haruka, I came to talk with you."

"There's nothing to be discussed, so leave!"

Haruka's balled his hands into fists.

"Haruka, please listen."

"No, go away, can't you see you're not wanted?!"

Haruka felt his eyes become wet.

"Haruka your eyes..."

Haruka's fury had reached it's boiling point, and he charged at Makoto, ready to punch him. Makoto dodged Haruka's punch, and grabbed his hand. Haruka used his free hand to push Makoto down. Makoto still had a grip on Haruka's hand, and pulled Haruka down with him. They rolled aound in the snow while struggling. Finally, Makoto pinned down Haruka. They stared at each other while breathing heavily. When Makoto's breathing had calmed down, he spoke.

"Haruka, look me in the eyes, and tell me that you want me to leave. If you do, I will, and I will never bother you again."

Haruka stared into Makoto's eyes, and he wanted to scream.

"I..I.."

Haruka's voice faultered.

"I can't do that."

Silence fell over them, and the only sound that could be heard was that of their breathing. They didn't break eye contact, staring into each other's eyes as if their lives depended on it. Makoto was the one that committed the next action. Makoto could no longer contain himself, and closed the little bit of distance between them and joined their lips. Haruka was shocked, and his eyes widened before fluttering shut. They stayed in the snow like that for what seemed like years before Makoto pulled away to breathe. They're rapid breathing returned and Makoto could no longer support himself and his arms. He fell on top of Haruka with his face buried in Haruka's neck. Haruka looked up at the sky and noticed dark clouds beginning to form.

"We should probably go inside."

"Okay."

Makoto got up off of Haruka and shook some snow off before putting his hand out to help Haruka. Haruka took it, and they both had smiles on their faces. They entered Haruka's home and took off their outer clothing.

"I can make some tea and mackeral for you. You want some?"

"Sure, thanks."

Haruka went off into his kitchen and Makoto sat down at Haruka's table. He looked around and noticed the lack of pictures or memorabilia. Makoto felt a bit sad at this, but forgot about it when Haruka entered with a plate and a cup. They sat and ate while talking about unimportant subjects. They talked about how they had been doing, what they had been up to, until Haruka brought up something that had been bothering him.

"Makoto."

"Yes?"

"What about Kichirou?"

Makoto looked away as if to avoid the question, but began speaking.

"I only dated Kichirou because I wanted to forget about you."

Haruka's eyes widened a bit, but he continued listening.

"It's too bad he resembled you in some ways, so I never really forgot about you."

Haruka interjected.

"You're using past tense. So what happened that you're not dating?"

Makoto sighed deeply before continuing.

"Well, we had a falling out. After seeing you again, my thoughts of you only worsened. After seeing you cry, I felt terrible and I couldn't get you off my mind. He picked me up after, and he knows me too well, so he could tell something was wrong. I didn't want to talk about it, but he forced me to. Once he found out it was because of you, he understood, but he wanted to break up. So we did."

Haruka gasped.

"Makoto, I'm so sorry!"

"What for?"

"I ruined your relationship!"

"No, no, it's fine, it was bound to happen at some point."

Haruka settled down before speaking.

"I wanted to forget about you too."

Makoto was now the one with wide eyes.

"After your confession, I couldn't see you in the same light. It made me really uncomfortable, thinking that my best friend was now interested in me. I put away old pictures among other things that reminded m of you, but all of Iwatobi reminded me of you, so I could never really forget. I tried putting my mind to other things, like training, but it didn't help."

"Oh...so what happened at the competition?"

"I'm not sure. It was a terrible feeling though. Just knowing that you had someone else made me burn with jealousy. I couldn't contain it, and it all just kind of spilled out."

Makoto had a worried look on his face while staring intently at Haruka. Haruka felt a bit embarrassed and looked away. He felt his face become hot. Haruka felt a soft hand on the side of his face and turned to become face to face with Makoto.

"You don't have to be embarrassed anymore. I'm yours."

Makoto leaned in and once again kissed Haruka. Haruka felt his face become even redder, but kissed Makoto back.


	5. Chapter 5

Makoto slowly opened his eyes, and was greeted with sunshine coming in from the window of Haruka's room. He noticed there wasn't anyone next to him in the bed and looked around the room, to no avail. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes before getting up. He changed into a fresh set of clothes before stepping out of the room. He heard a frying sound coming from the kitchen and flashed a mischievous grin. He slowly tiptoed over to the doorway and looked inside. Sure enough he saw Haruka standing at the stove wearing his apron. Makoto stealthily approached Haruka, and when he was within 2 ft of Haruka, he grabbed him from behind. Haruka gasped.

"MAKOTO HELP!"

Makoto began laughing and Haruka finally figured out who grabbed him. When Makoto stopped his laughter, he looked up and saw Haruka giving him a very intense death stare. Haruka began speaking in an angry and deep voice.

"You made me burn the mackerel."

Makoto giggled before leaving a small kiss on Haruka's pouted lips. Haruka broke out of his death stare and huffed before turning back to the stove.

"Aww, Haruka, you're so cute when your mad!"

Haruka slowly turned a light shade of pink, but began frying a fresh mackerel. Makoto giggled and went to sit down at the table. The night that Makoto had gone to Haruka's house, Makoto had also asked Haruka to go out with him, and of course Haruka said yes.

Makoto moved back to Iwatobi shortly after, and moved in with Haruka. While no one in Iwatobi was surprised at the two dating, everyone was happy for them. The two lived together happily for many years, going on several trips to different places around the world.

Then, on one sunny day in summer, they became the happiest couple in the world. Makoto and Haruka decided to spend the entire day at the beach. They swam and explored the reefs while scuba diving. They had a lot of fun, but all the activity left them exhausted. They laid down to sleep on a large beach towel, under an umbrella. Makoto was the first to wake and retrieved something from their bag before waking Haruka.

"Haruka, wake up!"

"Hmmm? Mmmmm...Makoto, I don't want to wake up yet..."

"C'mon, get up!"

"Okay, okay, I'm up. What happened, what's going on?"

"We need to talk."

"Hmm? About what Mako?"

"About...us."

Makoto tried to make his voice both dramatic and serious.

"What to you mean?"

"I don't like how our relationship is right now."

Haruka felt his mouth go dry at this statement.

"What...what are you trying to say?"

"I don't want to date you anymore."

Haruka felt tears forming in his eyes while looking at Makoto. This was so sudden, and after such an amazing day, so many trips, so many years. Did any of that mean a thing to Makoto? Makoto continued.

"I don't want to continue this kind of relationship. Instead, I want something more."

At this Makoto revealed a small box that was hidden behind him. Haruka, in seeing the box, gasped, and his tears began falling.

"Haruka, will you marry-"

Makoto couldn't finish his sentence as Haruka tackled him into the sand. Haruka wrapped his arms around Makoto's waist while crying.

"YES! OF COURSE I WILL YOU IDIOT!"

Makoto smiled and patted Haruka's head. He looked up at the sky, with no worries. Everything he needed, was right in front of him.


	6. After Note

Hi, everyone! Congratulations, you have read through the entire story and made it to the afternote! Unless you just skipped to this... Anyways, I hope that you guys liked the story and found it satisfying. Im not sure what I want to write next, so please leave suggestions, as well as things that you loved, liked, disliked, and hated about this story! Thank you for reading, and I will post again when I have a new idea!

Sayonara,

Viola~


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